Gov. Cuomo Says a LIRR Strike Would be “a Real Pain”

As New Yorkers face the prospect of a potentially crippling Long Island Rail Road work stoppage as early as Sunday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said that such an episode would be “a real pain,” but not a disaster.

“We’ve had strikes before, and we survived. And we’ve had disasters and we know what that’s like,” Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, said Tuesday at an unrelated news conference in Niskayuna, N.Y. “This is not a disaster. A real pain, maybe, but not a disaster.”

Mr. Cuomo is facing increasing pressure to step in to resolve the standoff between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, a state agency, and LIRR unions before July 20, when a strike could begin. Talks between both sides broke down on Monday.

While he said Tuesday that he hasn’t “been at the table” during negotiations, he summarized the points of conflict.

“Long Island households do not have any additional funds to pay for an increase in fares. So the MTA is saying, we want to hold the line on fares and we need to run the railroad, so we’re working within a budget. And the union is saying they want additional funds, right?” he said. “That’s the dynamic.”

Mr. Cuomo also pointed out that “the MTA doesn’t have any money except what the taxpayers and the riders give to the MTA.” So the conflict, he said, is really “between the union and the riders, the fare-payers. And it should be fair.”

Also Tuesday, U.S. Reps. Steve Israel, Peter King and Tim Bishop, who represent portions of Long Island, said, “both sides need to be at the negotiating table non-stop to work out an agreement that keeps the transit workforce on the job and keeps service running for our constituents.”

Last week, members of Congress said they couldn’t do anything to avoid a potential strike because of gridlock in Washington, D.C.